The forest was quiet.
Birdsong returned slowly after the chaos, each chirp a strange reminder that the world outside their battle had kept turning.
Reynar, Liora, and Sylvie sat around a crackling fire just beyond the rift's perimeter. The remains of the fight had already been swallowed by wind and silence, the corpse of Sylvie's master now little more than a memory.
But his presence still lingered—in the stiff way Sylvie sat, the haunted silence behind her golden eyes.
No one had spoken in a while.
Eventually, Reynar broke the silence. "We don't have to go back to Eidenweld yet. We can rest. Take our time."
Sylvie didn't look up. "I'm not tired."
Liora glanced at her. "You don't have to pretend."
Sylvie's fingers twitched in her lap. The firelight cast long shadows over her face, highlighting the tension locked in her jaw. "You both should've left me."
"We couldn't," Reynar said simply.
"You should have," she snapped, then immediately looked down, shame tightening her throat. "I… I didn't deserve it. Not after what I've done. All the dungeons I cleared for him—how many people died because of the loot I helped bring back? I don't even know."
Liora leaned forward. "That doesn't make you the villain. That makes you a survivor."
Sylvie flinched. "That's what he used to say."
Reynar reached over, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "The difference is, he used it to chain you. We're saying it so you know—we see you. Not as a tool. As someone who made it out."
Sylvie's lips parted slightly. No words came, just a soft breath of disbelief.
"I'm not good at… being around people," she admitted. "I don't know how to—how to trust. Or be trusted."
"We didn't ask you to be perfect," Reynar said. "Just honest."
Liora nodded. "And maybe… let yourself be cared for."
That landed harder than either of them expected.
Sylvie's eyes welled—not with sorrow, but something more unfamiliar. Hesitation. Hope.
"I thought once I killed him, I'd feel free," she whispered. "But I just feel… empty. Like I don't know what comes next."
"You decide that," Liora said. "Not him. Not us. You."
Sylvie stared into the flames for a long moment.
And then she spoke.
"I want to stay."
The words came out cracked, like they were fighting every instinct she'd built to survive. But they were real.
"I want to… try. Not as your asset. Or your burden. Just… me."
Reynar smiled.
Liora nodded, visibly relieved.
[System Notification]Companion Status Update: Sylvie has chosen to remain with the party.Current Affinity: 45%Trait Acquired: Emerging Trust – Combat sync speed with Sylvie slightly increased.
The stars blinked into view above the canopy, and for the first time in years, Sylvie felt them—not as distant lights above her prison, but as part of a sky she was now free to walk beneath.